I'm trying to write a ltr. to inquire about my grandfather. I used a computer program to translate my English to Italian but I've read several of your comments about them not being very good. So.... If any of you Italian reading people out there would assure me that I'm not sending something I wish I hadn't I'd appreciate it. The Italian version of my ltr. follows:

Hi Kek.
You're right: artificial intelligence isn't yet a technology reliable enough to perform a good automatic translation and results are often not satisfying.
Here is a version of your letter: I put into brackets some suggestions or doubts of mine, and all what I wasn't able to understand since I didn't have the original version of your letter.
Hope this helps.
Ciao, Maurizio

My name is Katherine Conty Kasza, my grandparents were both born in Italy. My father and I were born in La Junta, Colorado. I am researching my family tree and wondering if you could possibly be releated to me or have information on my grandfather.

Could use your help in translating it!

What follows is my original letter.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!!!

Dear

I am researching my family tree. I am wondering if you could possibly be releated to me or have information on my grandfather.

My grandfather's name was: Francisco Antonio Cunti
Born: February 13, 1869 in Caserta
Came to the United States in 1901
His name was changed to Conty at some point after his arrival to the United States.

My great-grandfather's name was: Palo Cunti
Born around 1813 in Caserta
Died on February 12, 1920 in Caserta

My great-grandmother's name was: Marie Nardi
Died on October 11, 1906 in Caserta

It is my understanding that Francisco was married and left a wife and young daughter named Assunta in Italy.

I was told that Francisco had a twin brother that died very young leaving Francisco an only child. I believe his family owned vineyards.

"I received your (let's use the second person, as in the anglosaxon way)letter with a great joy and I immediately started researching what you asked me".
The sentence into brackets needs a little preamble to be understood. Unlike English, Italian language has two different forms to approach a person with a direct speech: if the person we're talkin to is familiar to us (we are relatives, friends, co-worker, or we share the same age or condition, or any kind of intimacy), we use the second singular person (for example: "You are my brother" : "Tu sei mio fratello"); If speaking to someone we never meet before or to anyone we deserve respect, we use the third person singular feminine ("You have been very kind" "Lei Ã¨ stato molto gentile).
That's why, in the letter I translated for you, I used the third person in the sentences where you were directly addressing the recipient
Now, the recipient of your message propose you to "darsi del tu" (untranslatable), i.e. to use the second person in your dialogue: it's a sign of courtesy and symphaty, a way to show you he/she acknowledged the existance of a sort of "proximity" between the two of you.
The fact he knows this difference between the two languages, let me believe he/she probably can understand English. But maybe, since you write him/her in Italian, he guessed you can understand Italian: if so, I suggest you to clear this misunderstanding in your next correspondence, or you will always need someone to translate his/her message when it's possible he may write you directly in English.

I did respond to him in English. So I hope to hear something back soon.

From the mechanical translation I was able to get a feel of what he was saying. He wasn't familiar with my great grandparents but he said something to the effect that he was stubborn and he didn't lose heart. Or maybe he was saying I was stubborn and not to lose heart

I will let you know if I get a response in English. I'm so sad my Dad and his family never taught their children Italian.

There is a paragraph that my grandfather's name is listed and I'm not sure what he is telling me. I think he is interested in my grandfather's story and is writting a book.....am I anywhere near right??

Hi Kek.
You almost got it. You correctly understood the first sentence. About the rest, this professor Veccia is a local historian or something, and I has written some books on the town of Baia e Latina". Here is the rest of his answer.

â€œFrom a preliminary inquiry, the people you metioned in your letter result to have been born in our village. I will give you more info about this when I will have more details, but Iâ€™m already able to tell you that both your grandfather Francesco Antonio Cunti and his father Paolo were born in the municipality of Baia and Latina, more exactly in Robert street in the section of Latina . So, you may definitely consider yourself a country-fellow of ours! And, as for me, Iâ€™m happy to communicate you this.

If you desire, later on I will send you more detailed info about our village, some pictures of the most typical places, the books and articles I published and/or Iâ€™m gonna publish about the townâ€™s history.â€

Hi Kek.
Yes, if I was in your **SPAM** I would definitely send him a message in English, just to see if he can eventually speak your language: in that case, you wonâ€™t need anymore a third person like me to translate your conversation. In case he canâ€™t speak English, it would be fair for him to be aware that you donâ€™t speak Italian, so he may avoid to send you books or articles you wonâ€™t understand.
You could send him a message thanking him for his answer and saying you are so happy you found your ancestorâ€™s hometown, and then asking him if he would be able to write you in English next time.
If you want to be sure he can understand what you are telling him, you may want to add a resume in Italian. Here is what I would write: